Moth Racing last Weekend

Great Racing Saturday and Sunday here in Schleswig on the Schlei-Fjord.

A picture can say more than a thousand words. Have a look at: Pictures taken by Andreas

Pictures 1-20 taken in the strong breeze on Saturday.
Pictures 21-48 from the Sunday. The morning started with only 5°C. We did sail on the "inner Schlei" and the weather got better and better by the hour. These pictures are courtesy by Andreas B.

Pictures courtesy by Michael von F.: Pictures taken by Michael

My German readers will find a great report & video, contributed by Andreas at: Segelreporter

Great Live Pictures from Cartagena

The first Audi Med Cup race in Cartagena Spain will start soon. The boats are leaving the dock. All live on at:: audimedcuptv

During Moth Fest we took the chance to go sightseeing in Cartagena and it was worth the trip. An interesting town with some roman history. Great to see again (on my screen) the port, the cruise ship at the dock and hopefully in abt. 30 - 45 minutes some great racing from the TP52´s. The camera was just featuring CONTAINER when she left the dock. Wishing them and also the other "German" boat, AUDI ALL FOR ONE with Jochen Schümann as skipper/helm all the best. Good luck and Smooth Sailing!

The Ninja Days

Been busy with boat and entertainment prep and already this morning with tinkering on the boat to find a little bit more speed.

For updates you do not need to go any further as to: bristol-moths. Mike Cook, despite some mishapes during the windy day managed some great reporting. It is Markus on his MACH2 , who is matching with the Ninja´s and the open competition is enjoyed by everyone. Look for the results sheet at: Ergebnisse nach 8 Wettfahrten

Believe me, I am fighting to not become last in this tough competition with everyone having real good boat handling and course management. Gone are the days of Moth´s capsizing all over the course.

UPDATE: 3 races yesterday in marginal conditions (70% lowriding) for me and some others. NEvetheless we had good racing at the end of the fleet. Adjustments have to be corrected on some of the boats and there is lots going on in Camp Moth at present. It had been a day for the under 72 kg guys and gals.

Thanks for the inspiration Andrea!

Coming weekend we will sail for the "Carbon-Motte" trophy here in Schleswig, North Germany. We have 15 sailors from Germany and Denmark signed in at the moment and maybe some others will come out of the bushes in the last minute. You never know. The weather only turned into nice and sailable just recently. Before the water had been in the single figure temperature range. You know, this range where the foils loose grip in the water...

I was inspired to produce this challenge trophy after reading Andrea´s blog entry about a Moth-Carbon-Key-Ring. Have a look yourself at: carbon-fiber-key-ring. The photo is a bit rough, taken on the iPhone and it does not show the fine woven carbon fabric and the 8mm solid carbon plate (infusion technique) from which we milled the Moth. The trophy has to be challenged every year either here on the Schlei, as long as I am able to put my Moth into the water or maybe somewhere else. I am not donating a trophy again in a class with one outstanding sailor (Sven K. in this instance, whom I think would walk away with the trophy after 3 wins in a row) without putting it onto an "endless challenge" Nobody will win it forever. Like one of these great trophies, like the Admiral´s Cup, the Commodore´s Cup, the Roosevelt Cup and many others. It just lacks a bit of height and silver, this Carbon-Moth. But than, is black carbon of today not the silver of yesterday?

On a different note I promised to write about some misshapes on my boat due to my own repairs and some spares which I had used and which did not do the job properly. I have lost a wand in the process, had water in the bow, was fighting with the cambers and slacking hiking straps but now the boat #3627 seems to be in good shape. Thanks to sailingbits and thanks to Amac . Hope everything will work out fine on the weekend and I will not miss the races due to boat problems. Will keep you updated.

Anyone interested in the German press release about the regatta, follow this link: SA-Cup Germany